CERF: Donors increase their pledges for emergency aid in 2012 to US$375 million

More than 40 donors today pledged US$375 million to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) contributing to a $16 million increase in pledges for next year.

Since its launch in 2006, CERF, which has an annual funding target of $450 million, has enabled aid to reach millions of people affected by humanitarian emergencies such as natural disasters and other crises in 85 countries and territories.

“Five years ago, the UN General Assembly launched a new kind of fund that will ensure that when crisis struck, aid workers could start saving lives without delay and reach everyone, even in emergencies that have been ignored, or forgotten, by much of the world,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

From Haiti to Central America, Niger to Somalia, Pakistan to the Philippines, some 29 million people in 45 countries have benefited from CERF’s distribution of more than $400 million in aid this year alone.

Despite widespread food insecurity, Niger today became one of the latest donors of the Fund with a pledge of $10,000. Like Niger, about a third of the countries who had received aid through CERF have also contributed to the Fund over the years. The most recent contributions come from Afghanistan, Benin, China, Indonesia, Kenya, Myanmar, Niger, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Turkey.

“I thank the Member States for their strong support, which will help even more people in dire need. This strong showing of support underscores your continued belief in CERF,” said UN Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos.

In the last six years, a total of 126 Member States and observers, as well as some 30 public and private donors have contributed more than $2.8 billion to the Fund.